Michigan cop charged with murder for killing black man

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A prosecutor filed a second-degree murder charge Thursday against the Michigan police officer who killed Patrick Lyoya, a Black man who was on the ground when he was shot in the back of the head following an intense physical struggle recorded on a bystander’s phone.

Kent County prosecutor Chris Becker announced his decision against Grand Rapids Officer Christopher Schurr, who killed Lyoya minutes after a traffic stop on April 4. Video from a passenger in the vehicle captured the final chilling moments.

Schurr fired the fatal shot while Lyoya was on the ground, demanding that the 26-year-old refugee from Congo “let go” of the officer’s Taser.

“The death was not justified or excused, for example, by self defense,” the prosecutor said, reciting the elements of second-degree murder.

Schurr, who is white, told Lyoya that he stopped his car because the license plate didn’t match the vehicle. Roughly a minute later, Lyoya began to run after he was asked to produce a driver’s license.

Schurr caught him quickly, and the two struggled across a front lawn before the fatal shot.

Becker said he consulted experts from outside Michigan about the use of force in the case. He spoke to Lyoya’s parents to inform them about the charge before holding a news conference.